Newcomers: Sports, with Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus - The Departed (w/ Mike Mitchell & John Hodgman)

Episode Date: June 4, 2024

Lauren and Nicole are joined by very special Bostonian guests Mike Mitchell (Doughboys) and John Hodgman (Judge John Hodgman) to get into Scorsese’s award-winning 2006 film The Departed! This episode has everything: Mitch’s birthday, rat acting, Jack Nicholson’s filming pre-requisites and a special shout out to every person, place, and thing that made this film what it is. You won’t ever think of micro-processors the same way again. Follow Mitch: InstagramFollow John: Instagram, TwitterNext week tune in for our next episode covering The Irishman (2019!Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5 stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review for Nicole and Lauren to read on the pod!Follow the podcast on Letterboxd.Advertise on Newcomers via Gumball.fmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is a HeadGum Original. When I was your age they would say we could become cops or criminals. What I'm saying is this, when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference? This is not the regular police. This is the state police. We are an elite unit. This is who we're after.

Frank Costello. You won't be paid as a regular cop, but there's a bonus involved. So what do I do? You will not ever know the identity of undercover people. Do you have anyone in with Costello presently? Maybe. Do you know who I am? Maybe not.

I'm gonna have my associates search you. That was quick. You think he's dead already? Get your hands off me! I think we could work something out. We are all convinced that Costello has at least one mole inside the Special Investigations Unit. There are parts of my job I can't talk to you about. Man, you are trouble.

You don't know the half of it. You better get organized, quick. Hey, last time I checked, I tipped you off and you're not in jail. Getting the feeling we got a cop in my crew. Sooner or later lady's gonna find out who I am and he's gonna kill me. I can get the rap. You just gotta let me do it my way. If you don't, it won't be me who pays for it. There was a leak from the inside. it's real, man, smoke him out The distance, smoke on the horizon You are only coming through, get away

You're lying to me There are things you don't want to know about Your lips move, but I can't hear you say What are you waiting for, honestly? Do you want him to chop me up and feed me to the poor? You're lying to me. There are things you don't want to know about. What are you waiting for, honestly? Do you want her to chop me up and feed me to the poor? Is that what you guys want? How's your brother? She's on her way out. You all are. Act accordingly. I'm Nicole Byer.

And I'm Lauren Lapkus. And this season, we are working our way through the filmography of the esteemed, acclaimed director, Amartya Skasey. Also, our producers, Ali and Anya, are here joining us on a journey. We are doing 10 episodes, okay? We're limited in what we can explore of Scorsese's super long and prolific career. But of course, we can't get to everything. So we picked what we think, Anya and Ali think, are the pinnacle of his, you know, oeuvre for us to watch.

And today we'll be discussing the film based on the 2002 hong kong film internal affairs and on the real life of boston gangster whitey bulger the departed now i didn't realize it was based on a movie me either and i didn't know about whitey bulger and honestly if you're a gangster pick a better name that's wild that's a funky name honestly if you're from boston honestly if you're from boston it's redundant because bulger is fine people know well the departed is not streaming for free anywhere which i discovered last night but you can watch it for a fee on any major platform or if you're lucky enough to have a video store near you, you can rent it on DVD. Anya gets hers from the wonderful Vidyots and Eagle Rock.

That is cool. That is cool. I love that. Also, I just saw a movie at Vidyots, and it was wonderful. It's a great venue. It's such a great spot. You should go.

And also, we're going to spoil the fuck out of this. We're going to spoil every detail of this film. So if you care, watch it first. But we are so excited for our guests today. John Hodgman is a comedian, actor, host of the Judge John Hodgman podcast, and author of the books Vacationland and Medallion Status. He also happens to be from Brookline, Massachusetts, which is where Whitey Bulger's Lieutenant Stephen Flemmy lived. Mike Mitchell is a comedian and actor and co-host of the Doughboys podcast, also on HeadGum. He grew up in Quincy, Mass., where The Departed takes place and was good friends with Whitey Bulger's other lieutenant, his son. Oh, no.

Got that? Wait, is this true? Yeah. I was going to have you bleep his name. I wasn't going to say his name. Oh, we can bleep it. We can bleep it. I have to say The Departed is Mike's favorite movie, and it also came out on his birthday.

Oh, a treat for him. I didn't realize that Anya, when I told all this information to Anya and then I became my bio. The Departed doesn't take place in Quincy, to be clear, but Whitey actually did live in Quincy. Whitey Bulger lived in an apartment in Quincy at one point. And yes, my good friend growing up was Whitey's right, his dad was Whitey's right hand man. Whitey's right, his dad was Whitey's right hand man. Wow. He's basically the

what's his name? What's the big guy's name in the movie? Mr. French? Mr. French, yeah. Ray Winstone. Ray Winstone is basically the analogous version. Your friend's dad was

Whitey Bulger's Ray Winstone. That's, yes. Are you still friends with him? I mean, not as much anymore, no. I mean, like, we have not. We don't talk as much anymore. But not for any reasons like that. He was a great guy.

How many podcasts does he host? He, zero. I think, I won't give too, I won't dox him too much, but he does not go on podcasts, but he, uh, he was a very nice guy. Strong kid. That was strong kid. He was a nice guy. I mean, he was a nice guy, but I remember like, like when we would mess around, he would

like, he would toss me around easily. Wow. Was he older than you? No, same age. Oh, and just toss you around for fun? I mean, yes, he was a strong kid. When you're a strong kid, you toss people around. That's what you do.

I'm just having a hard time understanding in what context this strong boy is tossing you around. Boys love to wrestle in Boston, don't they? Yeah, that's right. I wasn't a guy who did this. I didn't do this, but I hit him in the testicles once. And he grabbed me and he threw me, like lifted me up and threw me. He was very strong. I'm telling you.

I would say that's fair. You hit him in the testicles. Yeah, why did you do that? Which was not me up and threw me. He was very strong. I'm telling you. He was very strong. You hit him in the testicle. Yeah, why did you do that? Which was not a normal thing for me. Mitch isn't the kind of guy who hits someone in the testicle. I think he had hit me before. Only when it's the son of a Boston gangster. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Only when the stakes are so high.

It can't possibly get scarier. Why did you hurt? Why did you hurt his chest? I did not hurt him ever. He was impervious to me. Why did you try? I didn't try. I was horsing around like

young Quincy kids do. Young Quincy horsing. I have a question. Quincy's not considered Southie? Quincy's not Southie. No, Quincy's not considered Southie? Quincy's not Southie, no. Quincy's next to Dorchester, which is next,

which is, I mean, it's next to Dorchester on the way to Southie. Anya, you didn't study the map that Mitch sent you? No, I'm from the North Shore. I thought it was all Southie after a certain point. Oh, no.

That's my bad. And I apologize to the good people of Quincy. I'm so sorry that I said that this film took place there. No, that was me. I also, I didn't say it,

but I'm also very sorry. I'm really sorry to everyone. There is a, there's a scene that you, where you can see Quincy in the back or the scene where they're under the bridge where, where like Leo is and Mark Wahlberg get into like a scuffle. That's like right near, that's right next to the Neponset River.

Can you see where you grew up? Your mom's in the background. Mitch, did you watch any other scenes in the movie or just that one? I just watched the scene of Quincy. I was going to say your mom was in the background waving and saying, happy birthday, Mitch. It came out on my birthday my first year in L.A.

I saw it at the Grauman's Chinese Theater. That must have been a fun birthday. It was a dream come true. That must have been a fun birthday. Wait, John, Mitch, what is your relationship to Scorsese as a whole? Or Scorsese? He's my dad. Oh.

Okay, bury the lead. He's my favorite director. I love Scorsese. Great. What are your top three movies? Can I say one thing about his name? Great. What are your top three movies?

Can I say one thing about his name? Early on in this podcast, I looked up how to say his name, and it's Scorsese. That's how he says it. But every time I say it properly, I feel like I'm being elitist. I'm going Scorsese. You know what I mean? Everyone says Scorsese. So is it annoying to say it properly?

Yes. No, I enjoy it. How do you say it, Mitch? Scorsese. Yeah. So is it annoying to say it properly? Yes. No, I enjoy it. How do you say it, Mitch? Scorsese. I just always say Scorsese. Martin Scorsese. Yeah. Scorsese. I think you're doing it correct.

I'm trying to do it how he wants it said, but I feel like I've noticed that when I talk about it off mic, I say Scorsese and Mike's been calling me out about it saying why do you say it like that when you're talking to me and you say it like that on the podcast and I was like because I feel pretentious saying Scorsese to you now that I have just watched his movies for the first time it feels like a little bit silly you're like I'm coming to your level of mispronunciation. Exactly. I think he's got to, I think he's got to give up on that.

Like Steven, like Steve Buscemi or Steve Buscemi. Like he's, people ask him how do you pronounce your name? Chrissy Teigen. That's,

it's actually Teigen. Oh. Oh, really? I didn't know that one. Interesting. I didn't know that. Ryan, Ryan Stanger

is actually Stanger. Stanger is, that's the wild one. What? That blew my mind. Like 10 years into being on an improv team, he told us that's the wild one. What? That blew my mind. Like 10 years into being on an improv team, he told us that. I was like, what? That's wild.

I had no idea I could say his name wrong. But Steve Buscemi now says, call me whatever you want. It doesn't matter. And that's what Scorsese's got to do. Sorry, buddy. Yeah. Yeah. All right.

Right now, I was like, my name is actually Nicole. I keep on saying it wrong this whole time it's so embarrassing I've been saying it right the entire time I really appreciate it yeah I want to hear your answer to Nicole's question though what are your top three Scorsese films

number one for me is Goodfellas I love Goodfellas which I'm not sure if you guys have watched yet. Oh, we loved it. Loved it. It's great. It's my favorite. I think that's like a movie that made me love movies when I was younger. And then, I mean, Departed maybe makes the top, but I don't know.

For me, it's like the King of Comedy. I don't know if you guys have watched that one yet. We haven't seen that, but that does come up a lot. Yeah. I love the King of Comedy. I don't know if you guys have watched that one yet. We haven't seen that, but that does come up a lot. I love the King of Comedy. I love Casino. I mean, people kind of underrate Casino. Did you watch that or no? Yeah, yeah, I guess we did.

We underrated it. And so I really wholeheartedly think I just saw it too close to Goodfellas. That's how I feel. A year in between or something, I would have been like, oh my God, I fucking love this. It came out not long after Goodfellas i think if i had like a year in between or something i would have been like oh my god i fucking love this yeah it came out not long after goodfellas too so five years but i think five years is long enough to be like oh i'm ready for another dip and it was it was sort of considered to be a kind of not a sequel exactly but a get the band back together kind of movie yeah same vibe a lot of the same cast and everything. A second beat if you're an improv nerd.

I'll allow it. Okay, she's getting really close to the camera on that one. I personally just loved Killers of the Flower Moon. I was a fan. That we're doing that later. So we can't talk about that now. I won't say a word about it.

It is long. John, what do you love? Uh, well, I mean, I think good. I'm just looking again. Boy,

this, um, Martin Scorsese has made a lot of movies and I've seen a lot of them. I mean, I've, I have to say good fellas. Uh, I'm going to say one that I have a real fondness for is After Hours.

We have heard of that recently and that sounded really fun. But I mean, its best movie has to be Joker. It has to be Joker. Joker? As in Batman and? Yeah, starring. Starring Joaquin Phoenix? Yeah, starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Wait, he did the Joker? Or is this a joke? No, he's cheap. Oh, okay. I fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker. That movie is highly influenced. Is it true?

He did produce it, I believe. It's highly influenced by King of Comedy and Taxi Driver. Oh, right. Interesting. I can see that. When I went to see it with our son, who was, I guess, probably in high school at the time,

he said Joker was the best movie he'd ever seen in his life. And I was like, what am I going to do about this? Yeah, well, he probably hadn't seen the other ones, right? I have to adjust my will immediately. Well, has he seen Fight Club? I feel like when you're in high school, you're like, you know, you get your mind blown by certain things.

But then I realized he had never seen Taxi Driver. So he just, he didn't appreciate. Like, I'm not even saying that Joker's a terrible movie. It wasn't for me. I think I liked it. The influence was so intense. You saw Joker? I saw Joker on my own time before we did our Batman podcast.

Yeah, I know. I haven't seen Joker. I think my dad was in town and it was kind of one of those things of like we're putting on Joker. Yeah, dads are going to make you watch Joker. I did it. I made my son watch Joker. Yeah, it's a dad move. Yeah. Alright, well. Oh, so anyway,

Goodfellas, After Hours. After Hours. Great movie. And then probably Taxi Driver, I suppose. I like Taxi Driver. I like Taxi Driver, too. I mean, it's hard to like that movie, but it's an experience. Yeah.

I mean, I guess you two obviously love Departed. I love it. Yeah. Personally. John? I had not... I'd seen it when it came out, and I really enjoyed it then. And I just really enjoyed it yesterday. And I also really enjoyed it.

I thought it was a fun, it was a fun thing. It was almost like Saved by the Bell, the new class. Like we've got like the young guys coming in to do the thing, which I really enjoyed. And we got Damon in there, which we have not had. Like that was exciting. Really fun cast. Yeah, I liked all of it. I thought it was really fucking fun.

Also, the way Jack Nicholson dies is so badass. It's right up there with me with Queen Latifah in Set It Off. I love a good death scene. Oh my God, yes. It's good. I confess I've not and Set It Off. I love a good death scene. Oh my God, yes. It's good. I confess I've not seen Set It Off.

Ooh, it's a great fucking movie. First of all, thanks for spoiling it. Queen Latifah dies. Got it. Ooh. Sorry. I've never seen Set It Off either, but it's funny to me that Queen Latifah dies

in a similar way. I was going to ask you to describe that scene, but now I'm going to watch that movie because it's probably great. You have to watch it. It's really great. And then Queen Latifah never died in another movie again. No. She puts it in her contract.

Not even Last Holiday. Not even Last Holiday. Or Bringing Down the House, which is also a great movie. I don't think I've seen that one. Oh, it's wild. That's with Steve Martin, right? Yeah, Steve Martin. He plays an ex-convict

and they like woo each other and then Eugene Levy's in it. Ooh, it's fun. And he's got a great quote. He goes, you got me all twisted up in the game, baby. And I quoted that for years. And no one ever knew

what I was talking about. Everyone was like, what? And I was talking about. Everyone was like, what? And I was like, bringing down the house, anybody? I'd like to ask Mitch, though, about the Boston of this movie. Because this movie is pretty Boston-y. Yeah. It's pretty Boston-y. And I am not from Boston.

I am from Brookline, Massachusetts. And I'm from Quincy, Massachusetts. So technically, I am not from Boston. You're from the city of Presidents. I was born from Boston. I am from Brookline, Massachusetts. And I'm from Quincy, Massachusetts. So technically, I am not from Boston. You're from the city of Presidents. I was born in Boston. Right. I was born in Cambridge. But, you know, like the accents that are happening in this movie are not the accents of a weird only child who went to Brookline High School.

Who spoke like this when he was 12. I think the accents are pretty decent. I think Nicholson is trying it occasionally and then being Nicholson. And then honestly, the one who's like, who's the best one? We're doing this later. You're ruining a later segment.

Wow. But we're on the same page about this being an important discussion. we are ruining a later segment. Wow. Okay, it's all good. We're on the same page about this being an important discussion. The accents in particular? Mm-hmm. Okay. Let's take a quick break.

We'll take a quick break and we'll be back with more Departed after this. And we're back. The Departed was released on October 6, 2006. He couldn't wait for Christmas treat. He had to do it on Mitch's birthday. I'm always going to remember it's your birthday now. Now that I've read this, talked to you about this,

I'm going to remember this. Wait, how old was I? 2006. You're asking me? 24. I turned I? 2006? You're asking me? 24. I turned 24 this year. You're asking me? You were 24 in 2006?

Yeah, do I seem old as hell right now? That doesn't make sense. I thought we were the same age. How old are you? I'm 41. Oh, you're older than me. Holy shit. You're so fucking old, dude. You're almost dead. Let me tell you? I'm 41. Oh, you're older than me. Holy shit. You're so fucking old, dude. You're almost dead. Let me tell you, I had heartburn all last night, and I was wondering if I should go to the hospital.

Oh, no. I'm so glad. That's not good. I'm so sorry I said that. And anyways, now I'm in here later to record my fast food podcast. Which is actually slowly killing you. Oh my god.

It's terrifying. Look, I'm fine. I think you're doing great. And if I wasn't the departed, I would have been whacked at this point. So I... Wouldn't even matter what you ate. Truly wouldn't. This was also written by William Monaghan. Just want to give willie his

shout out so let's jump into the plot and talk about what we thought of these moments so in the 1980s irish mob boss frank costello jack nicholson introduces himself to a young colin sullivan matt damon in a small shop in south boston fast forward to many years later we see that sullivan has gone through the police academy academy as now a mole for Costello inside the Massachusetts State Police within the special investigation unit led by Ellerbee Alec Baldwin. Meanwhile, another police academy recruit from Southie, Billy Costigan, Leonardo DiCaprio, is called in by Captain Queen and Martin Sheen and Sergeant Dignam Mark Wahlberg. They try to bully and intimidate him because of his past and his family's ties to the mob, but eventually convince him to go undercover and infiltrate Costello's operation.

Nicole, were you able to understand what was happening at this point? It was a little hard for me to understand the Leonardo DiCaprio storyline. I was like, wait, what, what, what? And then I was like, oh oh I guess he's bad and then when he got when he got to jail I then hit up Wikipedia to be like it am I understanding this correctly and I was um but I gotta say the whole uh Matt Damon Jack Nicholson relationship I was

like this is a long fucking con this man had to grow the fuck up go through the police academy get hired by the police i know get promoted i was like wow if you literally 20 years later or whatever that's a long time yeah like the fact they're still in touch is like amazing what's his name uh oh i can't jack nicholson i thought he was so great in this movie this whole movie he's just so awesome he plays such awful people consistently that i'm like you might have a bad heart like you might be just an actual bad person it was definitely giving Joker vibes. Like it was like, he was like, he had some moments where I was like, it's very jokery. No, absolutely.

This was a Joker redux performance. Especially when he started making the little rat faces towards the end. He was talking about rats. She's eating rats. He almost annoyed me. When I first saw the movie, I was almost annoyed because he was just like, you know, he was like 70, whatever. And he just is like having fun, it feels like, in this movie, which is great. It's great to see.

But it was almost annoying to me. And he wouldn't wear a Red Sox hat or something. There was news about that. He refused to wear that even though they wanted his character to wear that yeah why i think he wears a yankee sat or something uh because he hates the red insane it's sports you're not on a team it's a character you're also playing someone who like murders people like he's like the murder is fine but i draw the line at fucking baseball hat which makes him a bit of a traitor,

which is, you know, a big theme of the movie anyway. That's true. You think he was trying to access his character as a double agent? Yes, yeah. Without any moral compass, a total double agent who would wear a Yankees hat

secretly in his room in Boston? Yeah, it adds to that. He's just a real piece of shit. There's a lot of pieces of shit in this movie. Yeah. And Damon is one of them. I just want to give a shout out to Tim Brennan from the Dropkick Murphys. It's like 20 minutes into the movie before the shipping

up to Boston starts playing. And so just a shout out to Tim Brennan from the Dropkicks. And then also shout out to Dotcom from 30 Rock. Just shouting everybody out. Dotcom is in the opening. Sorry. Okay, I want to give a shout out to Martin Sheen, who's in this movie.

And it's so awesome. Shout out to Leonardo DiCaprio. He's in a lot of the scenes of this film good for him it's good to see him just to boston in general shout out to brutalist architecture that beautiful shot of the city of boston city hall you know the most painful building to touch in the world. It's just a jagged rocks. You know, it's interesting that Jack Nicholson was like, I won't wear a red socks hat,

but I will ask a young girl. She's got her period yet. Like there's just interesting choices made. That was so nasty. That seems on, on brand. It seems on brand. I don't think there's any contradiction there.

I feel like every time with these movies, I'm like shocked that it's a true story. Every single one of them is true that we've watched. Like I'm like, this is, so I just learned today that this is true. Well, this is based on, it's not like none of this stuff happened really. It's based on like the character,

Frank Costello, i believe is is uh character is based on whitey bulger it's not like it's just kind of analogous but this didn't have this didn't happen because there was a there there was a a movie called infernal affairs that had this plot line yes that they optioned and then the and then the the william monaghan the screenwriter kind of put a boston irish gangster overlay on it like it got like a video game skin put on top of this and there is there is a very fun way to adapt this to adapt it and you know i don't know that there had been a movie about the, the South Boston gangster culture before. And I liked it. And Whitey Bulger was an informant to the FBI that like that all,

all of that lines up to, so that he was brazen and notorious, like would just walk around town with money falling out of his pockets. His brother was a Massachusetts state legislator, Billy Bulger, the president of UMass, Billy Bulger was a Whitey Bulator, Billy Bulger. He was the president of UMass. Billy Bulger was? Or Whitey Bulger? Billy Bulger was the president.

Billy Bulger was the president of UMass. My dad knew Billy Bulger a little bit. He was a well-liked... Mitch, are you in the Irish mob? No. Come on. You're going to blow his cover.

He's been undercover as a podcaster. Infiltrating the podcast scene. Yeah, he's a rat. I'm tired of these rats. All these Irish mobsters infiltrating podcasting communities. I am not a part of the Irish mob at all. Mark Maron met me as a child and put me through Yale so I could become a podcaster. met me as a child and put me through Yale so I could become a podcaster.

And now there's rats coming in from Quincy. It's not even Boston. I can't wait till we get to the part with the rat. The rat. Look, I defend the rat. I like the rat. I also like, okay, so Koskinen serves a term in prison to set up his cover and further commits a series of crimes

which catch the attention of Costello's right-hand man, Mr. French, Ray Winstone, and eventually Costello, who recruits Kosygin to his organization. Meanwhile, Sullivan begins dating Madeline Madden, Vera Farmiga? I like her. She's in them scary movies. She's great in this movie.

A psychiatrist. Coincidentally, when Kosigan's mental health starts to decline from his work with the Costello organization, he begins taking appointments with Madeline. I loved all this. This was like juicy juice juice. I know this was like horny horn horn horn. Yes, and you know us.

We love the horniness. Did you pick up on Damon not being able to fuck basically like he has like character has like has like like can't get it up basically wait what did you say

they're in bed together and she's like it happens like the morning yeah there's little hints like that okay this is a question actually have because later she gets pregnant yeah is that and then I was like is it little hints like that throughout the entire movie. This is a question I actually have because later she gets pregnant. And then I was like, is it Leo's baby?

And Matt Damon's reaction to it is like, really? Implying that it basically is not his because it's shocking. Yeah. Yeah, I didn't pick up on that until just now. Is it a given that that's probably DiCaprio's? I think that's the underlying, a given that that's probably DiCaprio's?

I think that's the underlying, I think that that's some subtext there is that like Damon can't. And then she's like crying at the funeral a lot. And then he's like, what about the baby?

What about the baby when she's walking by him? Ignoring him, yeah. Look, this movie has Pink Floyd in it. A guy can't get a boner. It's the perfect movie for me. Boston.

Comfortably not. ED. Boston. ED, big one, yeah. So Sergeant Dignam informs the SIU of the murder of Miles Kennefic, an employee of the Mass Processor Company, who had been ordered by Costello

to steal 20 microprocessors to deliver and sell them to the chinese mob the illegal distribution of microprocessors becomes a focal point of the investigation of costello you know this is like a little crunchy for me but i didn't mind like i didn't really i was like micro okay i was like crime is afoot and i know it yeah that's a little dated at this point to the microprocessor. What's a microprocessor? Yeah, I don't even know. It's a small processor. Okay.

Ooh, okay. I should have used context clues. I mean, not just small, like micro. Really tiny. Yeah. Like really micro. Itty bitty. Yeah.

It's like almost you can't even see it. Can't see the processor. There were a lot of computer companies and still are. Fantastic. There were a lot of computer companies, and still are, but I mean, this is the early days of the tech sector in Boston, which is a big part of Boston life now, is the tech sector. But my dad worked at a computer company outside of Boston that looked like this place.

So it really... You can get a million micro... If you go in town, you can get any microprocessor you want now, but back then it was different. Oh, yeah, back then it was really hard to get you had to steal now you have one in your phone yeah it's in your pocket all the time 100 whoa what about the phones in this movie because i forgot that it came out in 2006 they were so nostalgic yeah yeah and there's like a year a year later there would be iphones all over the place but there didn't exist then yeah i was like

it's that's that's you, it's interesting with technology. Like, lucky they didn't have to shelve it for a year and then put it out, and everyone's like, what a baby's dumb phone. Right, exactly. Well, I liked it because it was of the time. Like, I just, it really felt so real. I guess in, like, you know, 20, 30 years,

I'll be like, wow, iPhones. I can't believe we all had them. I know. And, you know, Killers of the Flower Moon, which you haven't seen yet. You know, that was produced by Apple. But they didn't have iPhones in the movement. They had Motorola razors. I can't even say it.

Damn it, I ruined my own joke by mumbling it. Motorola razors. Motorola razors. I was going to say, that's why you see all the Osage carrying around iPhones. Yes. They made them add them in. It made no sense, but they were like,

we got to put it in. Motorola. There we go. I got it. I was watching a children's movie that is a cartoon from the early 2000s and they have so much Verizon placement in them. It's just like a children's movie that is a cartoon from like the early 2000s and they have so much Verizon placement in them. And it's like a it's just like a kid's movie. And I'm like, this is weird. And it becomes like it's like Verizon's still a company, but it just becomes so like, oh, I guess it's weird to put it in a cartoon.

Was that that movie called Can You Hear Me Now? I think I saw that. Imagine you tuck your child in and she just goes good night verizon like i don't want to even know what verizon is what um okay so back to the plot after receiving a tip of another deal of microprocessors occurring with the chinese mob and the costello crew the siu attempts to set up a sting sullivan warns frank about the deal and instructs him not to use any cell phones

so they can't be tracked. I gotta say, when these things were happening and like Damon is doing it, I'm like, how come nobody was like, why are you so good? How come these, do you know what I mean? Like, I just feel like he kept being there when things, when they couldn't get to Costello. Do you know what i mean like i just feel like he kept being there when things when when

they couldn't get to costa do you know like it was just everything was so convenient all the time also doesn't matt damon like send a text message in his pocket during that scene oh he sure does and i said oh he knows t9 work so good i think i could have done that at the time really okay yeah i think so too i was really good at that Damon is such a great like sniveling little piece of shit In the movies And still kind of remains likable He is still likable to me

Yes very likable And feels real So not intimidating Like when he's banging on the door When his girlfriend like locks herself in the room I was like you're not gonna hurt her you're not gonna hurt anybody you're just a little nerd yeah he is I mean I think that that

yeah he plays like a great like weak slime ball kind of guy well I mean like he had been he was coveting power since he was a child like that's the first scene when Jack Nicholson comes in in the 80s and hands him those wolverine comics for free uh yeah it's pretty good deal it's like yeah

okay yeah i guess i'll work for you for the rest of my life sir but you know what he's what he's seeing is power and what he's craving is power and that's what he's seeing when he's staring at the golden dome of the state house. And that's why he wants to have that apartment in front of the state. Oh, I didn't get that. He is highly, highly aspirational guy.

And that's why at the end you see the, that building, right? That's why you see that. That's the rat in front of, yeah. In front of the state. It's even more heavy handed than I thought.

I loved it. The rat, the rat part I didn't like, but I like, I love that little rat. I wish we followed the rat for another hour or so. Me too. I also was like, was that CGI or did they have a rat handler who was like,

okay, here's a G. I wondered the same thing. That was a real rat. It had to be real. He's on record as saying it was real. Shout out to the real rat. Who's definitely dead real. He's on record as saying it was real. Shout out to the real rat. Who's definitely dead now. No, he still, he works.

What? He did mocap for Ratatouille. Oh, God. He sucks. I guess I don't know how, I really don't know how long rats live, though. I would guess 10 years max. Yeah, 10 years, 12, 13.

Anyway, so Sullivan warns Frank about the deal and instructs him not to use any cell phones so they can't be tracked meanwhile Koskinen secretly gets a message back to the SIU the mobs and it's just like everyone's texting back and forth I'm like nobody knows okay the mobsters are able to get away through a back door and also I love that there's a blind spot that they just set up cameras and they weren't like, let's get all the angles. Right. They only had two hours. Yeah, they only had two hours. The guy says he only had two hours.

Yeah, but like if your job is to set up cameras, set up cameras. Look, I wasn't complaining when Alec Baldwin took a swing at that guy. Yeah, I'd be like, look. All right. You sound like Alec Baldwin right now. He flew off the hand. I mean, I got it. I was like, I would be mad too.

But then they find out that there's a rat in both organizations. I did like that. It's a really fun twist. I mean, I guess we're to understand it from the beginning, but it did take me a minute to fully get what was happening with the two guys. And I'm sorry if I sound dumb. But I was like, oh, it's so fun. They're both doing things. get that like what what was happening with the two guys and i'm sorry if i'm so dumb but but i was like oh it's so fun they're like both doing things and stuff they don't know i enjoyed it okay trying

to figure out who the rat is castella makes his crew write down their social security numbers and puts them in a marked envelope for sullivan to look them up in the police database he meets sullivan at a porn theater to pass off the envelope. I was like, call back to taxi driver. Costigan watches the exchange and tails Sullivan. You nerd! Call back to taxi driver. I'm not happy, okay? I'm not happy.

Poor Sezzy would say. Costigan tails Sullivan and is ordered to make an arrest. He pursues Colin around the city. They notice each other, but neither gets a clear look of the other's identity.

As they're about to confront each other, Colin mistakenly stabs and kills a Chinese restaurant worker. That was a great scene. Restaurant worker, instead of Costigan, is able to escape undetected. Costello interrogates Costigan

about the rat, and Costigan attempts to dissuade him by telling him to look at an older disgruntled worker who thinks they can do what he does. I love that scene. So he's like, they're kind of passing each other in the night

and then he thinks he's about to get him. He just stabs a random guy. Just a random man. I couldn't believe it. I know. Matt Damon's character is spinning out of control at that point. It's so fun to watch him just unravel.

He's got it so locked down at the top of his arc and then as it just goes on he's just falling apart yeah yeah and he plays it really well he does because it never feels like he's a different person he's like no he's got he's the guy who's been faking it his whole life he's had this facade up his whole life of being the top of the class the best guy and as it starts to unravel, you really see it. He's a very, I'm going to tell you something.

Watch out for this Matt Damon. Yeah. I think he might go on to something. Jumping ahead a little bit, but when he's like. I believe that man could go to Mars and grow. I think he could buy a zoo, honestly.

He can do whatever he wants. Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Wait a minute. I think he can downsize. Well, I'm out can downsize. Well, I'm out of fucking movies. What the hell?

To jump ahead a little bit, when he's in the elevator and he does kind of break down, he's like, just fucking kill me. It's pretty great. Yeah. So during a holdup, Kosigan confronts a drug addict who reveals that frank is an fbi informant which costigan immediately tells queenen quinnan queenen queenen that was a weird name for me that night

um there are a lot of weird names in this dignam is also a weird yeah yeah i don't know the history of that name i'm'm looking at the goal. Me either. He's a man who digs. He also begins an affair with Madeline. Maddie Madden, like Madeline Madden. That's a silly name. It is a very silly name.

So he sleeps with her, and I love that scene. It was so horny and just enough. Yes. I loved it. She was great. Yeah, I really like her. It's horny as hell. Also, especially after seeing that bizarre photo of her as a child to still then be in the mood.

That weird photo of her in front of the child. Do you know what I can't handle? Okay, so Matt Damon was like, you can't have this on display. I don't remember. The photo seemed completely innocuous to me. Was there something about it? It's so fake. I just hate how like when hate how every movie ever, when they make a picture of like, oh, these two characters are a couple, it looks like the fakest thing you've ever seen. Their heads are the wrong side.

It's always edited wrong. And they put her little face on a picture where I'm like, you're telling me she didn't have a childhood picture we could use. Like, it just felt like so weird to me. Every time. I agree. It happens. It happens so often. Like, it's just like, I've been in fake photos that are weird looking, you know,

like that doesn't look like we were really together. Like, it's just like, wait, take a photo. Some people like, we'll have you take a photo together. And then that feels nice.

Cause it's like, we're not editing heads onto bodies. Yeah. But. Oh, yeah. To create photos for background photos for a show or whatever. together and then that feels nice because it's like we're not editing heads onto bodies yeah but oh yeah to create photos for background photos for yeah it's like when it's like important and they're like zooming in on it and then you're like well that didn't really but was there something that i missed about that photo that would make matt damon go no we can't show this photo other than it's a photo of her what what was it there wasn't anything about it. It was like personal... He didn't want any personal belongings in the house. Yeah.

That's definitely not a red flag at all. But I felt like it was because his childhood was so much with Costello that he doesn't have childhood stuff, so he didn't want all of her... He's jealous. Okay.

Alright. At least that's what i took it as i definitely would want to live with mary and have a baby with someone who didn't want me to put up childhood i'm with i'm with damon on this one don't put up the fucking that photo was too weird it's the photo's strange keep it off the wall. It's fucking bizarre. Okay, Sullivan's then put in charge of finding the rat within the police organization. Though, of course, he's only trying to deflect attention away from himself while also figuring out who the rat is within Costello's gang. So to achieve this, Sullivan orders a tale on Queen and during which SIU officers follow him to a meetup with Costigan.

This is great. At 344 Washington Street, Queen meets with Costigan on the roof This is great. I love this. This was really fun writing. Were you shocked at this moment? Yes. Yes. I also loved that, what's his name? Martin Sheen.

He was like, I'm going gonna smoke a cigarette before i die like he was just like i know i'm going to die i know and that was really not fun to watch but like it was just really cool to like his line was like any boy's got a light is great that's like such a it's like whatever and then watching that little old man trying to move fast i loved it it was great and then like the whole like the whole trick of the situation that Leo shouldn't have quote unquote known because he was given a different address, but he was at the right address. Yeah, I had forgotten about that. And while I was watching it, I was like, oh, that guy gave him the wrong address.

Yeah, same. I was like, oh, is that a mistake they made in the movie? But of course it wasn't. And it came back. And it was one of those, it was pretty masterful how it kind of just planted this like something's wrong here and then they paid it off so terribly. Also, when that body

lands in front of Leo and he is splashed with blood, I was like that is one of the most violent things I've ever seen. It's more violent than like hitting someone. Yeah. He should have just said, it's more violent than like hitting someone. Yeah. Yeah. He should have just said. It's more violent than punching? Well, like, you know, when you see.

The body being thrown on the building is more violent. When you see someone like. No, like if you slap someone. No, but if you like slap someone, like it really hurts them. Like it's so like if like this is the way that guy fell. Like it was almost like more intense than being slapped. I love it later on when one of Costello's henchmen i don't remember i think this actor isn't actually an irish actor but he goes yeah we we went too far there we shouldn't we didn't need to throw him off the

building that was but i love that like the intersection of him like that moment where he just like gets like stopped in his tracks by the body falling it could have fallen on his head one second later and then he's covered in the blood and i'm like how do you deal with that like you look so guilty but then he had the perfect moment with them where he's like i just showed up yeah and then he this happened it was like it played really well i really enjoyed the writing and i yeah and i think also there's like this movie has a really good plot which i think we've talked about with other things where it's like they're more slice of life feeling and this is like we're getting like really good reveals and twists and turns and stuff, which is cool. By the way, in the theater, when you see Martin Sheen's body falling through the sky, there was a lot of there were a lot of people.

On your birthday? Was it on your birthday? It was on my birthday. I was just saying in the theater on my birthday as well, my 24th birthday. When Martin Sheen's falling, you hear a lot of, No, you know what? I was there

and I heard someone say, it's that guy's birthday and everyone, You know, Martin Sheen, that was just, that wasn't him. He didn't die. Oh.

He's still alive. Oh, he's still living? Yeah, Martin Sheen's still alive. No, they threw him off a building. No, no, no. In the movie, he died. They all gasped for nothing. He's fine. Did a lot of work after that. Well, there's more gasps later. I'll say that, too.

And also, maybe some laughter. It depends on what theater you were at. Okay. Oh, I can't wait to hear what the laughter is. So, back at police headquarters, Sullivan, Ellerby, and Digman all fight about what went down, and Digman resigns from the force. It's all these names. It's like Irish, Irish, and Irish are all fighting each other.

All these Irish guys are yelling at each other. I know. I lose track of who's who. Dignam. Dignam. Dignam. It's an Irish name. I looked it up.

It's a real name. Reading's hard for me a lot of the time. Back at the mom hideout. It's not a name that I looked it up. It's a real name. Oh, okay. Reading's hard for me a lot of the time. Back in the mom hideout. It's not a name that I've heard every day. No, they could have said Shaughnessy or Mitchell. There is a show named Digman. There is, right? On Fox television?

Yeah. Koskinen talks to one of Costello's guys who was wounded in the shootout, who reveals that he accidentally gave Koskinen the wrong address, but Koskinen still showed up to the right one. Using Queenan's phone Sullivan calls Koskinen to attempt to convince him that he is taking over for Queenan and the two should meet but Koskinen hangs up. This is all great. I liked when he was like I gave you the wrong address. Do you want to know why I didn't tell? And then he just he like pulls out his gun but then he dies and I was like

ooh ooh ooh that was close. Yes. There's a lot of discussion about this, of whether that guy was an undercover cop as well or not. It's kind of debated whether he was. And they say later that he was an undercover cop too. But then Costello says, they're just trying to make me think that we got the rat to stop looking.

If you look on the Departed Reddit, there's a lot of discussion about this. Whoa, I won't be doing that. Where do you come down, Mitch? I think that he probably was a cop. I think so, too. I read that the scene was longer. That's why he didn't tell. That's why he didn't tell on Leo DiCaprio.

But you know what I would have said if I was Leo DiCaprio? Like, yeah, dude, I was on my way to 314, but Martin Sheen fell in front of me. You actually, you know what? You would have a really good story with that. Like, I was going to the right place. I wasn't, I didn't arrive.

I just happened to have this happen in my path. Which is a great excuse in general. If I'm ever late for something now, I just say, well, Martin Sheen path. Which is a great excuse in general if I'm ever late for something now. I just say, well, Martin Sheen's body fell in front of me. You chose this to be your last conversation? You know, the guy's dying. Yeah, sorry.

Sorry you messed up, dude. Why are we talking about this? Leonardo DiCaprio getting a phone call from a dead guy? I don't think I would answer it. Phone call from a dead person, I would answer. Oh, you would answer it. Phone call from a dead person, I would answer. Oh, you would? Yeah. Yeah, you gotta find out what they want. Well, wouldn't you always wonder

what was gonna happen on the other end? Yeah, it's like, hey, ghost, what's the grudge? Tell me. Let's just hash it out. If I got a call from my grandma or something right now, I would be like, I probably would pick it up, I think. I would be scared, but I would answer it. Yeah, I would feel weird letting it probably would pick it up. I would be scared, but I would answer it. Yeah, I would feel weird letting it go to voicemail.

Letting my grandma's ghost go to voicemail. I would listen to the voicemail. I'd be like, oh, that was grandma. I should call her back. Voicemail could be better because you could save it. My phone's ringing. I apologize. My phone's ringing right now. Oh, it says Mitch's grandma.

Oh. Pick it up. Okay. No, don't. Should I? Do you guys have a thingy? I don't know. I don't know why she's going yeah are you dating

I'm gonna let her go to voicemail and see that's that's over the line she was happily married now he's mad okay let's keep going here so two days later

Costello's crew goes to retrieve a crate of cocaine in Sheffield where Costello's being killed you know Mitch there are a lot of happy marriages. It doesn't mean that grandmas don't get horny.

Okay. Wow. Especially after they've passed. Wow. I can fuck a ghost grandma if I wanted. Okay, this is getting too real. Not my ghost grandma. No, just stop calling me.

This is some of the fun repartee you hear in the movie. The Departed. Like when Leo DiCaprio and Anthony Anderson are jogging along together and they're giving each other a little ribbing. Tell your dead grandma to stop calling me for sex. That's something that people say in Boston all the time. It's a common voice. My dead grandpa is tired from fucking my dead grandma. Yeah, they sell a lot of shirts like that at those souvenir shops.

That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go to Quincy Market. I did like that conversation up top with Anthony Anderson where it's like, you're just going to have a hard time as a black guy in Boston. And I was like, I feel that. Boston, no offense, both of you are from there, is pretty overtly racist. And it's wild.

Every time I've been, I'm been i'm like huh yeah don't feel great yeah that's a bummer because i feel like some of the a few of the times you've been have been because of me because of our my podcast but that's been okay okay good you weren't you weren't racist during the podcast for god's s sakes, I hope not. Actually, he was. He was like, we brought this black for you all to be mean to. And then the crowd booed and said, black, black,

black. And I was like, oh no! I argue that they were chanting black in support of you. Oh my god. Okay, we've gone off the rails. At the deal,

the crew are ambushed by the state police and all of Costello's crew except Costigan are killed in the ensuing gunfight. Costello, wounded, calls for Sullivan

and admits he's an FBI informant. This is a really fun scene. Sullivan and Costello both pull their weapons, but Sullivan is quicker and shoots Costello dead. Back at police headquarters sullivan now the hero of the department meets costigan for the first time realizing that he was the undercover all along costigan however notices the envelope of personal information the gang provided to costello on

sullivan's desk and realizes he's the rat in the police force. And he quickly leaves Sullivan realizing what's been, that he's been caught, erases Costigan's files. There's so many things happening right here. Everyone's realizing the scene with, with Jack Nicholson being shot is so awesome. It's like so shocking. Like it's so fast.

And then, yeah, these moments where they're both piecing together that they're like, Oh, that it's him. Oh no, it's him. And then like,

they're both doing their best, like delete. get away. Very exciting. It is. And I do love that Matt Damon's character is just deleting, because he's like a nerd. Do you know what I mean?

He's like, I just gotta hop on my computer and delete this man. He just deletes his whole identity, right? Yeah, well, I mean, that's devastating to this guy who's undercover, because there's no proof other than Dignam that he was ever a cop. And Dignam is nowhere to be found at this point.

And Dignam is missing. Because he quit? He quit. He basically gets suspended, but he's like, he knew. I mean, Dignam is pretty sure at this point that Damon is a rat. Like after Martin Sheen's character, and dies i think the dignum is like this guy is the guy i think he knows and so he's suspended but i think he's he feels done anyways right i don't know i found it weird that he quit so easily like that i guess because he knew that

he was going to end up working for matt damon and didn't want that to happen yeah and maybe he just knew uh shit was fucked up, I guess. I don't know. But he's a real, I mean, obviously we're going to talk about it in a minute. He's a really wonderful question mark. The most exciting character in the movie, as far as I'm concerned.

Wow. Yeah, I like that. Okay, hot take. I think the most exciting character in the movie for me is Leonardo DiCaprio's hair I really like how it starts off like shaved and then it kind of like grows in and I really like that

haircut when it grows in it was good on him look I appreciate that Leonardo DiCaprio is a good actor he rarely does anything for me in particular I don't love to go see him act. Sometimes I feel like I'm just watching him act and I'm not seeing a

character. I think he's, I think he's pretty good in this movie. I thought he was great. I, yeah. And I thought he was hot as hell. I agree.

Ooh. I thought he was hot as hell. Oh, yeah. He looks good in this. Yeah. I think also he, this is a movie.

If I were, if I were, if I were a dead grandpa, I'd fuck him. A dead grandpa? Yeah, if I were a ghost of a grandpa, which I will be, I think. Fingers crossed.

Yes, then I would hit him up with a text. Okay. I think that he... There's no one-to-one correspondence with that joke it's just dumb so no i mean like it it doesn't matter that he's not gay it doesn't matter that you're not gay but when you're a dead grandpa anything happens anything goes when when it's when it's the afterlife anything can happen that's very true i love that you know what i mean i love that

and obviously i'm not into it if he's not into it. I'm just saying. I'm glad it's consensual. I'd send a text. You know what I mean? Or make a call. I like that. You up?

Yeah. He, to me, in this movie, there was always the argument. He was really good in this movie, I think. I just, like, I just had to say it again. He was really good in this movie. I really liked him. Well, Leo, I think it's the criticism of being like he looks like a child or whatever and i think this is one of the movies where you feel like he is like a man if that makes sense he feels like

an adult yeah which which which even like the aviator which i like a lot too which i don't know if you guys have watched that or will watch we did. Alan McCloud is in a scene in it. Alan McCloud? Wait, Alan McCloud is in the theater? We didn't see that. What? He opens a gate? He opens a gate for Leo, I believe. It really ties the whole film together.

I'm so mad I didn't notice that. Just like.com. You guys missed.com as well. I did miss.com. Wait, what gate is he opening? What part of the movie is this? It's early on, I think. I don't know.

When Leo is driving to see an airplane, he opens up a gate. That's the last one. I mean, not at any point in the movie. Yeah, that's the whole thing. Okay. I'll have to go back and find that, but that's really fun for Alan. But he looks like a man in this movie is what you said. Yeah, and feels like like he's an adult i agree i agree i felt like he started off as a kid like i in the short hair made him look more childlike or younger and then he

i really saw the evolution of him being like this is this is aging me the stress of this is fucking aging me yeah we maybe saw it in this movie yeah yeah like i i his character arc is really incredible yeah i agree and there's he won an award i guess i'll find out later find out no spoilers to our own podcast oh yeah okay so costigan then meets madeline and hands her an envelope telling her not to open it unless something happens to him or if he calls her and tells her to do so. And guess what? She never does. She never does, but she writes something on it. His name, I think. That's right. So later he sends Sullivan a CD. So dated and I love it.

This was crazy. She had to go to a big old stereo that was like the size of a wall. Flip on everything of the tape conversation with costello from the porn theater madeline sees costigan's name on the envelope opens it and discovers sullivan has been lying to her sullivan calls the number on the cd and reaches costigan who reveals that frank recorded all of his conversations and trusted costigan so much that frank's lawyer sent him everything when he died which is wild the two decide to meet at three four four Washington again at the meeting Kosagin ambushes Sullivan and arrests him during which Sullivan reveals that he erased Kosagin's

file SIU trooper Tony Brown Anthony Anderson appears and points his gun his gun at Kosagin as Kosagin explains to Brown that Sullivan is Costello's rat, letting the two exit through the elevator. But as they leave the elevator, Koskinen is shot in the head and killed instantly by trooper James Barragan, James Badgedale, who knew Sullivan from the police academy,

who then shoots and kills Brown. Barragan reveals that he's also one of Costello's moles and they're now a team. They got to take care of each other. Sullivan responds by shooting Barragan reveals that he's also one of Costello's moles, and they're now a team. They got to take care of each other. Sullivan responds by shooting Barragan dead. I'm truly, at this point, I'm gasping. I'm like, what? I know.

And then I was like, he had to shoot that guy. Because, like, you just found out there's another mole that you didn't know about. You can't trust that person. You can't trust anybody. That does not seem. You got to erase everyone who's ever heard of the idea that you were a fool. And by the way, James Badge Dale, great actor.

This character, dumb. I mean, the minute after he shoots Anthony Anderson and Leo DiCaprio, he's like, oh, by the way, I'm a traitor. And Matt Damon's just like, oh yeah? Hand me that gun. I know. It was weird. It was like he was so trusting.

Give me Kostigan's gun just for a second because I need it for some reason. Why did he expect that to go well with him? Like, we're a team now. Let's just go hold hands and like do the thing together. That's a tall adrenaline. Yeah. Oh yeah, he's just amped up.

Can I go back for a second and say something about that stereo system that Matt Damon had? So that's not just like old old timing times with CDs or whatever. That particular stereo system is expensive AF. That's a, those are Macintosh receivers. Only like asshole stereo guys have that. So for me,

when I saw that, I was like, Oh, that is Matt Damon's character. I'm going to get the fanciest stereo system I can because I'm the, I'm the biggest shit on the planet. Oh my god, they're like $8,000.

Yeah. It's a real signifier that this guy is an aspirational asshole. And would that still be worthwhile today to have that? I mean, of all the stereo equipment, if you're a real stereo person, that's one of the things you would think about.

Wow. Okay, cool. There's still pretty fancy pants. I like it. Yeah. Cool. And I also wanted to say, if you don't mind, about Leonardo DiCaprio looking like a kid early on, Nicole. I thought that was really smart.

Because when he's getting yelled at by Marky Mark in that opening scene like you see him as a child being yelled at and he's a young person who has lived a double life that's what marky mark's whole thing is like on the weekends you'd live in southey with your dad who refused to work for the mob but was tied up with them and on the and during the week you would go to deerfield academy which is he mentioned that he that he wenterfield, which is a pretty fancy boarding school in western Massachusetts. So he is, like, to me as a guy who – I was not of the Southie world at all, at all, at all. I was a very, very upper middle class, relatively rich kid in a pretty comfy suburb. Do you know what I mean?

But, like, you know,achusetts is a very white place you put white people in a closed environment they turn on each other they fraction and they find ways to hate each other and the class divide that marky mark is talking about um where he's yelling at him and being about a lace curtain irish and he's not a real irish like that was really like very very genuine boston for my reading that sense of not being authentic or not people who are lace curtain irish what does it mean yeah what does that mean it sounds fancy like you have a lace curtain on your house yeah it's like upper i feel like it's the upper like snooty i feel like was always what i took it as is is lace curtain is is they they're at least putting out the appearance that they're of a higher class.

And I'm not sure what Marky Mark was doing, like beating him up like that. I'm not sure what the intent was there. I mean, I think that it was considered that he was trying to train him to be a double agent or recruit him to be a double agent. It wasn't just him totally just being an asshole. But you can see a world in Boston where someone would be saying the exact same things just because, fuck it, it's Caucasian tribalism, we're in a bar, fuck you. That's the way that people care about each other in Boston.

Yeah. Right? Yelling at each other, right, Mitch? There's a lot of yelling at each other, I believe. I think that's a part of it. Fuck you, Mitch. You don't fucking believe that. What the hell?

What the fuck? Why are you doing this to me? Because I love you. This is Boston. I try to turn it on you by not yelling back. I know. It worked too. Someone almost got someone in the testicles during that. I can't believe you hurt

the testicles of the son of a mob member in South Boston. He lifted Mitch right over his head and tossed him around like a big pizza pie. Weren't you scared when you were being tossed around that you would just be tossed to death? I talked to his dad while he was in prison. That's a weird visit. Yeah, I don't know about this. On the phone.

This is the truth. Why? I was over his house and they were like, and he was called from prison. He said, hey, tell the kids not to mess up the phone. This is the truth. Why? I was over his house and they were like, and he was called from prison. He said, hey, tell the kids not to mess up the house. And I said, tell them Mitchell's going to mess up the house.

I was being a little wise ass. And he's like, put him on the phone. You're just telling someone in jail? And he was like, when I get out of here, I'm going to strip you naked, tie you to a tree in the backyard

and beat you to death. And I was like, and then he's like, I'm just messing with you. That's the truth. True story. Leave it inarte we're in boston now okay let's just finish what this movie is about before we get into the way that damaged you psychologically i mean it's just all damn right no one reacted to that at all? You guys had no reaction to that. It was honestly so shocking. I was speechless.

I was just like, okay, great. I mean, that is a Boston, a certain Bostonian version of kidding around. Just wildly abusive and traumatic things to say. Saying that from jail is a little intense. It's wild. Of course. Of course it is. Of course it is.

It was funny. It was. I took it as like a, I took it as fun. I mean, like it was insane. He's a tee hee hee. Ha ha ha.

I was like, but I was like, you know, I mean like, I was like, how old are you? Like 12? I was probably like 15

or maybe 16 at this point. I hate to say this, but what if Mitch just got shot in the head right now in front of us? I would be so sad. It was the Irish mob long game. I would be so sad. I think someone's going to have to tell his mom, and his mom's going to be like, wait, what?

Your whole family would be so, your sister? Yeah, you'd probably have to tell them. I'd have to tell them I saw it. It's not even funny. We would have to tell them? I would just'd probably have to tell them. I'd have to tell them I saw it. It's not even funny. We would have to tell them? I would just tell Anya to tell them. Lafkis, what the fuck? That would be a gasp moment.

No, I would tell your sister. I think you would have to. Guys, what are we talking about? Yeah, okay, so the movie ends. Sullivan enters his apartment with a bag of groceries and finds dignum waiting for him wearing booties i appreciated that because i was like don't wear shoes in the house and he's pointing a gun at him and then he shoots sullivan and then he

leaves he leaves and he's yeah he's dressed like a like a person who comes over to like do some work on your house or something and then he like just walks out in that outfit and is like bye like he just doesn't um and then also before that happens he tries petting a dog and his neighbor's like don't pet my dog that's great and i was like a great little thing yeah so nobody likes this man i know i was like he has bad energy like the dog was like even the dog's like not dude yeah you a rat dogs are good at smelling rats. That's true. That's science. Yes. That is what it is.

Okay, let's talk about the reception of this movie. We've been wondering if it won any awards. The Departed was a critical and commercial success, landing at the top of many critics' year-end lists. Ooh, and it won four Academy Awards, including the first best director Oscar for Scorsese.

After five losses. This is so, I can't believe how genuinely happy I am. This must have felt great. It was a great moment. It was a great moment. And some feel like the win was more of a lifetime achievement award for a lesser film. I liked it. But I also can't believe

he didn't who won over him for good fellas did we dances with wolves one yeah kevin costner i guess right did he direct he directed dances with wolves yeah he did um scorsese himself joked that he won because this is the first movie i've done with a plot. He's funny. Wow. That is funny. He's funny. He's got jokes on himself. He is funny. Here's a little trivia for you. Scorsese originally wanted Al Pacino for the role of Costello,

but he turned it down. Brad Pitt, who had acquired the rights to the movie was originally going to play Colin Sullivan, but decided someone younger should play the role. And instead it was just a producer on the film. I love that kind of choice. You're like really the story actually should be these people it wouldn't yeah yeah it would have been very different but how much younger is matt damon than than uh

brad pitt honestly maybe not too much but i think he just had a boyish look about him that works better than brad pitt yeah yeah for sure i mean he's seven years younger than him something especially at that time he reads yeah he is that baby face too like a different kind Brad Pitt. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. He's seven years younger than him. Oh, interesting. That's something. Especially at that time. But he reads, yeah, he has that baby face too. Like a different kind of baby face. And he can read a lot younger than Brad Pitt can now.

Yeah, and I feel like the two baby faces really fucking worked. Just like two men trying to be like men men and like trying to be powerful. So Vera Farmiga. How do I say that name? Farmiga? Farmiga? Farmiga. do I say that name? Farmiga? I think it's Scorsese yes Vera Scorsese met with a real LAPD

psychiatrist to prepare for her role the psychiatrist read the script and told her that Madeline did pretty much everything wrong it's pretty obvious she didn't have to meet with anybody. I could have told her that. Yeah.

But, you know, there was something, and I think that, and I know we're not supposed to talk about it, but I think that there are times when her accent was really good. And when she was in that Boston mode, I would be like, no professional psychiatrist would act this way, but I would believe a Boston psychiatrist might. I don't know why. I do think a Boston psychiatrist would act that way. Right? I think that there's a certain amount of like,

let's just let the chips fly. See what happens. I'm going to fuck you. Let's see what happens. Hey, I showed up. You didn't hate a picture of me as a child. I guess you're not a monster. Let's fuck.

I know. That was honestly all it took. He was like, I think it should hang higher on the wall. And she was like, I'm into you. She was like, I actually don't want to erase you. It's like,

I've never heard that before in Boston. Okay. So Scorsese deliberately chose not to watch Infernal Affairs, the original that this was based on until after he'd completed his film. I like that. I think that's smart. It's a great movie, by the way.

Oh, okay. I haven't seen it in years, but there's a fun thing that they great movie, by the way. Oh, okay. I haven't seen it in years, but it's great. There's a fun thing that they do in it where Matt Damon's character, after Leo is killed, he lives a lot longer. I don't think he actually ever gets killed, in the first one at least. So he kind of lives with the weight of this guy dying and kind of being considered a hero or whatever. Really? He kind of just lives with that guilt for a while uh and in this one mark walberg kills him which i also like it's i love it's great it was a great ending uh kevin corrigan who plays billy

costigan's cousin sean also played hen Henry Hill's brother in Goodfellas. That's right. Oh, I didn't know that. That's nice. How about that? He was also in a sitcom I really liked, and I can't remember the name of it. What is it? His mom is like a perfect, she has like COPD and is smoking. You know, the lady with like the, she is like, I was texting Dano last night, my friend, who you know, John. Yeah, of course. Nicole, you know as well with like yeah she is like i was talking well i was texting dano last night my friend from who you know john yeah of course nicole you know as well i know him he's so sweet

we were talking about how that how that late that aunt is like kind of very much a boston lady the lady with with oxygen uh an oxygen tank and smoking cigarettes. That's very domestic. Did we find out what the name of that sitcom was? Grounded for Life. Oh. It's a good show. It's a good show. I remember that.

Okay, let's take a quick break and we'll be back with the new Academy Awards. Despite his films being nominated for over 100 combined Academy Awards, he's only won one, which is crazy. And it was for this movie, but we're still going to present the prestigious first annual New Academy Awards. Okay, so we're going to read categories and tell you who the nominees are, and then we're going to vote for who should win the award. I love it. Best Boston accent.

The nominees are Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Alec Baldwin. Who do we feel did the best? Say it again. Say the nominees again, please. Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Leo, and Alec Baldwin. Can I say my vote is that I think Matt Damon actually does too much. I'd say he's one of the ones that I think has a bad accent. I don't know if he was.

I think he's great in the movie. Isn't he from there? Yeah, he's from Cambridge, right? He went to Cambridge Ridge in Latin. Yeah. Okay. He thought it was too much? when he's doing when he's doing his accent now i'm going to specify i don't have this accent i grew up around it i can i

cannot do it interesting it is it's impossible for me to get it right it's a really really challenging not to mention there are about 17 different boston accents wouldn't you agree it's sort of like brit accents where it's very specific for whatever neighborhood you're coming from. There's a Kennedy accent and there's a million different accents. A Kennedy accent? What does that sound like?

Like the mayor on The Simpsons? I've never seen The Simpsons. That actually is shocking. It feels impossible. Not a single Simpson? I've never seen a single one. My mother didn't like it, so I didn't get to watch it as a kid, and then I just never fell into it.

Well, that makes sense. You would like it. I did watch Ally McBeal as a child. Well, maybe if it goes on for a few more years, you can watch it when you're a grown-up. I hope when I grow up, I can watch it. There's only 35 billion seasons to catch up on, so. Yeah. But I have a vote. I have an an answer for this one who's your favorite well i want to say that baldwin and martin sheen

feel like such boston like guys my dad would know like my dad's work they both feel like specific characters in boston to me and i think they're both great in the movie. I think Wahlberg probably just does have the best accent of that bunch. Yeah, his is very solid. Of the bunch you listed, I think Wahlberg probably does the best accent. And honestly, one of his better roles, Wahlberg. This is one of his better roles. I'm going to go with Alec Baldwin because I don't want Mark Wahlberg to win anything because I think he's terrible. That's fair.

Just a bad man. Yeah. He did tell me I had a nice jacket on the fox lot one day. You know what? I take it back. He's a great man. Ooh, baby. I absolve him for all wrongdoing.

No, Alec Baldwin. I thought Alec Baldwin also, I think he just did a great job. I have to agree with Mitch. I feel like Matt Damon knows what he's talking about when he's doing that accent. I think that definitely Mark Wahlberg knows what's happening when he's doing that accent.

I mean, he has it. But I think that Alec Baldwin felt like a Boston guy. I think it's a great choice. To make it unanimous, I'll join you in Baldwin. I'll do it, too. I don't give a shit. The New Academy Award goes to Alec Baldwin.

I don't give a shit. Worst Boston accent. By the way, a not bad man at all, Alec Baldwin. Oh, yeah. You know, you're absolutely right. Calling his daughter a little piggy on the phone and some other stuff too and I love his wife

pretending to be from Spain that's funny that's funny to be a white lady who's like no no not me okay where's Boston she's from Boston isn't she his wife is from Boston claims that that's not real where's Boston accent

Vera Farmiga Martin Sheen from Boston. Uh-oh. He claims that. That's not real. Where's Boston accent? Hilarious, right? Vera Farmigal, Martin Sheen, Ray Winston, Jack Nicholson. Who did the worst? Yeah. He was in and out, right? Yes. He wasn't really in and out. He wins the New Academy Award. That was easy.

I gotta say, I liked this movie, and i like jack nicholson in it and i like jack nicholson yeah i i would love to see a movie i'd love to see this movie all over again with someone else in that role yeah i'd be interested in seeing that too i i mean i he is a lot of fun but it would yeah if it was pacino that would have been interesting i i i would love to see someone who looked like whitey Bulger and sounded like Whitey. Like really felt like a Boston guy. Because this is a really specific. I feel like De Niro could have done it.

I'm just going to say. No, I agree. That would be interesting. A little bit. A little bit. Okay, well, it's time for Score Says E. It's time for reviews. Once again, this season, we will be reading reviews from Letterboxd.

We will then each give a one-sentence review ourselves and a star rating. And if you don't know, Letterboxd is a social platform where people can write reviews of films, and we are on there at Newcomers. Are you guys on Letterboxd personally? Yes.

No, I should be, though. I want to be. My name's Mitch is my Letterboxd handle. We can set you up with an account, John. We'll get that started for you, and you'll be writing reviews in no time. All right. Thank you very much.

We'll set anybody up who asks us. This first review is four stars. It comes from Eric, who says, movies set in Boston count as foreign cinema. That's fun. Yeah. Four stars. Okay, so anybody, and Anya and Allie

are also going to give their reviews of this film. If anyone wants to go first, jump into the pool. Okay, I'm going to give it five stars. I loved this movie. I also liked the Irish

fun music that was like nope that's not how it goes but you know what I mean. That sounded just like it. Thank you. I loved the double crossing. It was so juicy. I loved the little rat at the end. He was so cute

and the acting just really great. So good. What'd you give it? How many stars? Oh, five stars. Five stars. Okay. On your alley, would you like to tell us your review? Well, going off of Nicole's, mine was going to be five stars because

that opening scene with shipping up to Boston makes me go absolutely feral. That music gets me going. And I'm glad to hear it resonated with a non-Boston person too. Actually an anti-Boston person. I'm not anti-Boston. No, you should be.

You'd be right. No, it's just an interesting place where racism's overt and it's nicer than being covert. But the Pizzeria Regina is pretty good. I love Pizzeria Regina. Hell yeah. That was fun that time we weren't there. And that song is really good. More importantly.

Hell yeah. Shout out to Burnett. I think that song really hits people from Boston in a very special way. Even me. I'm not really from Boston, and I don't really like that song. But when I hear it, I get very excited. Who wants to go next? Should I give a review?

Yeah, yes. I mean, this is, of course, on my letterbox, it is also a five stars for me. It's about Boston. It came out on my birthday. There's a Pink Floyd song in it. It's everything that I love. it's organized very much for you it's it's it is it's it's it's all my interests are aligned Scorsese is is great I think it is just I love it it's also a very fun film and I feel like people that were like it's a lifetime achievement award I feel like they're taking away from the movie that is a great, great movie. Yeah, I agree. I agree.

Yeah. Some of it has aged a little bit, but I don't – honestly, re-watching it last night, I'm like, imagine if every Oscar nominee this year was as fun as this movie. You'd be having a blast. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good point. That's a good point. John, would you like to go next? One star.

Oh. Oh. No, five stars whoa wow give us one sentence i i would i would watch it again right now like i hadn't seen it for a decade at least i watched it yesterday couldn't keep my eyes off it and And I agree with Mitch. It's like, you just don't see movies like this anymore. I agree with Martin Scorsese. It's his first movie with a plot. Yeah. And, you know, it's like, it came, its source material was a really, really cool story. And they made it even more interesting.

And I absolutely, it's not just, I mean, if anything, I want to say this. Yeah. I just thought it was great. Even though I felt the accents were, some of them were more ambitious than others. Yeah. Some of them were more successful than others. I also. It got Boston very right in a lot of ways. In a lot of ways. Yeah. and it is a foreign country it's a weird shitty little town that is very very very specific you know and i i think they got it and i love i love stories that are set in real places and i love

that alec baldwin feels like a real guy and like it really it it it's like it was like uh shipping up to boston for me like just seeing ale Alec Baldwin put his face in a bucket of ice water for no reason. Yeah, when he's hungover. You're like, I'm like, I wonder if Baldwin was just hungover there. Yeah, I was like, yeah, okay. I see that. I want to say just one quick thing. I think that people give Scorsese a hard time

because he focuses on a lot of terrible people and then idiots like Wolf of Wall Street, a great movie, like they're all shitty people. And then some people think that's cool, but Scorsese isn't saying that the people in the Wolf of Wall Street are cool. He's like,

these are, he's just, he's telling a story and in the departed, I guess you can't even, there's no like gray area. You can, you know, you know, the bad guys are bad guys. And, and,arted, I guess you can't even – there's no gray area. You know the bad guys are bad guys. But I think he gets criticized for that and it's like, yeah, he focuses on bad people, but he's not condoning what they do.

Right. It's your fault if you're interpreting it that way. Yes. Yeah. I mean like there are two things. This isn't even criticism. Like, I would love to see this again, as I say,

with a, with a different actor playing Costello. Yeah. Because the whole thing is premised on that, that, you know, Matt Damon is in love with him, that the people who work for him,

love him, even though he's unpredictable and violent and weird, that he's got some kind of thing. And to me, uh, uh, Jack Nicholson is just too scary all the time. Do you know what I mean?

Like I didn't quite. Yeah. Like he wasn't charming in, in the way that he kind of imagined that the whitey bulger might've been. And then also I thought that I would say to say this, but I thought that rat at the end was dumb. Well, the rat at the end is ridiculous.

Yeah. I love that rat. When I was going like, I thought that, I hate to say this, but I thought that rat at the end was dumb. Well, the rat at the end is ridiculous. Yeah. I love that rat. When I was going like, I might have been slow on some of the uptake on some things, but I was like, I got it. He was a rat. I mean, especially after. And at that point, everyone's shot. I'm like, yup, there was.

It just was like, it climbed up the side of a building. Like, what floor was he on? Like, I was just like, do rats even do that? They do. The rats do that. They do. They get into everything. I haven't given my review and it's really important.

So I just need to say my review is five stars. Yeah. And this movie's twists and turns kept me on my toes. That's all I want to say. Okay. Oh yeah. You guys, you're obviously the best guest we could have had for this episode thank you so much do you have anything you want to plug dana would have been a better guest than

me but thank you that would have been very exciting for me to listen to that's like please you have to listen to yourself this time yeah please remake this entire podcast with a different better actor than me for sure someone who gets it more than I do. Please listen to Judge John Hodgman on the Maximum Fun Network. And I don't know when this is coming out, but we probably will have just completed our annual pledge drive, maximumfun.org slash join

if you like the show and you want to become a member. And Dicktown is the TV show that I made with David Reese and it's still on Hulu and it still stars Mike Mitchell as Mitch. I'm in it. I'm in it. I had a blast. It was great. I recorded in

Boston, didn't I? Yeah, I think you did. I think that's right. Yeah, I think you recorded in Boston. And you know what? I looked out the window and on the railing I saw a rat. So I know you guys think it's crazy. I mean, that ending was so superb. One of the best endings of a movie ever

in terms of, I just could go on and on about it. And then from the Dignam killing him and you don't know why, but you can talk about why and you can figure it out and then the state house again and then like,

I think that there was maybe, maybe there was an alternate version where Dignam stands around and he picks up the rat and puts it right on Matt Damon's nose. So it's completely on the nose. It's terrible. I'm reading trivia right now and it turns out that that rat was just coincidental. So you guys think it's not real. They were just doing a shot outside the window.

And they're like, oh, a rat. A rat. Perfect. And they're like, that kind of connects to what the story is. That's so ironic. I forgot to mention this in the trivia, but someone started a Kickstarter a few years ago and raised money to digitally

edit out the rat. Oh my God. He raised like $4,000 overnight. What happened to that money by the way? I hate that. I love the rat. I thought it was so fun. The rat is fun. I hate that. I love the rat. I thought it was so fun. I mean, I accept it as part of the film.

It's just not my favorite part. I accept it as part of the film, a glowing. Mitch, what do you want to plug? You can listen to Doughboys and we got a Patreon, the Doughboys double

and I'm about to record an episode in just a few minutes. Well, that worked out. That's fun. Oh, watch Twisted Metal on Peacock, too, as well. Oh, okay. Well, guys, please listen. Please listen.

Listeners out there, please review our podcast on Apple Podcasts and rate the podcast five stars on Spotify. It helps so much. And we're going to be back next week with the Irishman. Wow. Oh. Wow. Oh. Oh, boy. You guys. Can't wait to watch the Irishman.

I have a prediction is that you will not have fun. Oh, that's always nice to hear. That is nice to hear. As we go into it. Heard it's long. What guest are you digitally de-aging to have on your podcast? Ourselves. We're going to be babies talking about it. Heard it's long. What guest are you digitally de-aging to have on your podcast? Ourselves. We're going to be

babies talking about it. Well, thanks so much, everyone. See you next week. Bye. Bye-bye. Newcomers is a HeadGum original hosted by us, Nicole Byer

and Lauren Lapkus. Our executive producer is Anya Kenofskaya and our producer is Ali Khan. Our theme music, editing, sound mixing and mastering is done by Ferris Manchi. Listen to new episodes wherever you get your podcasts every Tuesday. Thank you. That was a Hiddem Original.